ASHEVILLE, N.C. -
For the second straight contest, the Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team took part in a game full of fouls and free throws. The Chanticleers and UNC Asheville Bulldogs combined for 60 fouls and 95 free throws. The game was close throughout but the Bulldogs used their second half free throw shooting to pull away late and claim a 100-85 victory. The win moves the Bulldogs into a tie with Coastal for the top spot in the Big South Conference South Division. The winner of the Winthrop/Gardner-Webb game tonight set for 7 pm will join the Chants and Bulldogs in a three-way tie for the lead.

Coastal’s record falls to 16-12 overall and 9-5 in Big South play. The Bulldogs improve to 15-13 overall and 9-5 in conference action.

Three of CCU’s starters fouled out of the game in the second half including junior Josh Cameron, junior Warren Gillis and senior El Hadji Ndieguene. Freshman Elijah Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 28 points. Wilson was 7-15 from the field, 0-3 from three and 14-19 at the free throw line. Gillis added 22 points while hitting 8-13 from the field, 3-4 from three and 3-6 from the free throw line. The final Chant in double-figures was sophomore Michel Enanga who scored 11 points on 5-8 shooting while knocking down just one of five free throw attempts.

The Chants as a team hit just 13-23 free throws in the second half after knocking down 14-20 in the first half. The Bulldogs connected on 28-35 at the charity stripe in the second half while hitting just 10-17 in the first.

CCU shot 43.3 percent from the field in the game while Asheville connected on 49.1 percent of their shots.

Asheville controlled the boards 40-35 while outscoring the Chants 43-39 in the paint. CCU also had 19 turnovers which led to 24 UNCA points.

UNCA had five players in double-figures led by Jaron Lane’s 25 points.

The game was extremely tight in the first half with most of the period being separated by one possession. A 9-3 run by the Bulldogs to close the half gave UNCA a 45-38 lead at the break.

UNCA pushed its lead to as many as 14 points midway through the second half but the Chants would not go away. CCU slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs’ advantage and eventually cut the deficit to just three points with 7:16 to play. The Bulldogs would not break as they kept the Chants down. With 3:27 left, UNCA began a 14-4 run to close the game giving the Bulldogs a 100-85 victory.

Coastal will now return home to host a pair of conference games to close out the regular season. CCU hosts Presbyterian College on Wednesday at 7 pm before welcoming in Charleston Southern on Saturday at 2 pm.